Apple to close Support Community Forums on 20 November

Apple announced that its Support Community Forums will be shut down on 20 November, ending nearly three decades of user‑run assistance.

From 11 November the site stopped accepting new posts and was placed in a read‑only state, with a notice directing users to the company’s other support channels such as phone, chat and in‑store services.

The forum, originally launched in the late 1990s, was renamed Apple Discussions before being relaunched as Apple Support Communities in 2011. Apple said the platform no longer meets its strategic or customer needs.

Apple’s decision mirrors recent moves by other tech firms: Verizon retired its community forum in August, and Microsoft has redirected users from Microsoft Answers to a new site. Industry observers note that the rise of AI tools, including ChatGPT, has reduced reliance on traditional forums.

Apple reported its “best fiscal year ever” earlier this month, with quarterly revenue of $114.5 bn, up 12 % year‑on‑year, and net product sales close to $83 bn.

Source: Silicon Republic. Photo: panumas nikhomkhai / Pexels.